European Parliament Events 2013

06/12/2013

The 2013 Sakharov Debate aims to critically examine the state of LGBT rights in Europe, with a particular focus on the role of the EU in promoting same-sex equality among EU member-states and in states outside the EU.
As in previous years, this event is organised jointly by the European Parliament UK Office and the UCL European Institute.

14/11/2013

This AGE UK workshop for voluntary and community organisations will help you share your skills to develop a better understanding of how the European Parliament functions, how its decisions affect our daily lives and how we can help to shape policy by working with our MEPs.

13/11/2013

This year we teamed up with the UK Film Festival in London to screen the three finalists' films as part of the festival on 11th, 12th & 13th of November. The films were screened at the The Aubin Cinema in Shoreditch.
Thank you to everyone who attended!

18/10/2013

Britain has always been a champion of enlarging the EU towards the East. Putting words into action, the UK has been among the first countries to fully open its labour market after the 2004 EU enlargement. This increased inflow of EU migrant workers into Britain was matched by an outflow of British citizens, who live in other EU countries. Our event will look at the economic impact and social/political consequences of this migration.

14/10/2013

"Germany’s election is no longer primarily a national affair: depending on the outcome, residents in other member states of the European Union and especially in the eurozone might feel the economic, social, and political impact of the result even more keenly than German voters themselves." (Ulrike Guerot )

14/10/2013

Membership of the common market has been a crucial argument for the UK's accession to the European Economic Community in 1973. Moreover, it is frequently argued that the UK has punched far above its weight in creating and shaping the Single European Market that we have today. But it is frequently also argued that the Single Market has been more of a problem than an advantage to the British economy, and that it has stifled rather than facilitated growth.

10/10/2013

Probus clubs operate nationwide for business and professional retirees. The European Parliament Information Office has been invited as a speaker in October.
For further information contact Elisabeth.Sweeney@ep.europa.eu

18/07/2013

How much legislation comes from Brussels and how much from Westminster? Different people give different answers.
What is the relationship between the British constitution and the EU legal framework?
By looking at the past and the present can we understand what Britain's future can be in the European context?

12/07/2013

The EU has undertaken an impressive overhaul of its rulebook on financial services in recent years. Given the size of financial services industry in the UK and the heated debate around EU regulations, we brought to Europe House the key players and influencers for a morning of debate:

10/07/2013

Elections to the European Parliament are in May 2014. What can civil society and education do to help people know what the elections are about?
This event was for everyone concerned about democracy and any aspect of the EU and those involved in adult or community education, or working with communities.

28/06/2013

What road to take on the issue of car and van emissions?
The EU rules for car & van emissions are being negotiated between the European Parliament and the EU 27 Member States' Governments. Will the proposed new rules lead to lower CO2 emissions, lower fuel costs and spur innovation and employment in high tech manufacturing? Or will a revision of the rules, halfway to 2020, hurt the UK automotive industry and the 700,000 jobs that are dependent on it?

21/06/2013

The European Parliament Information Office in the UK gave a workshop on "How the EU Works" for local authority democratic service officers, councillors and students of politics from around the surrounding area.

03/06/2013

With less than a year to go till the European Parliament elections, high-level politicians and senior academics came together at Europe House to discuss the future of the EU Institutions from 2014 and the impact of these changes on Britain's relationship with the EU.
Speakers:
Martin Callanan MEP, Leader European Conservatives & Reformists
Guy Verhofstadt MEP, Leader Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe
Emma Reynolds MP, Shadow Europe Minister
Professor Simon Hix, Head, Dept of Government, LSE, Founder of Votewatch.eu
Professor Anand Menon, European Politics, King's College London
The debate was moderated by Benedicte Paviot, UK Correspondent, France 24 and live tweeted using #EU2014.

On 9th May 1950 the Schuman Declaration was presented by French foreign minister Robert Schuman. It proposed the creation of a European Coal and Steel Community, whose members would pool coal and steel production. This was the seed of what has today grown into the European Union.
This day is now marked across Europe including in the following ways across the UK.

13/05/2013

Mr Speaker will be delivering a talk on the role of Parliament in the British constitution.
Young People and the Constitution is The Constitution Society's initiative to inform today's young people and tomorrow's leaders on the workings of the British constitution and the arms and levers of our state. Bringing young people from a broad range of experience and backgrounds together with key figures in the workings of the British constitution, we aim to better prepare the politicians and civil servants of tomorrow.
Over 150 young people have registered to attend the event and registration is now closed.
Date 13 May 2013
Time 17.00-19.00
Venue European Parliament Information Office (32 Smith Square, London SW1P 3EU)
Hosted by The Constitution Society, the European Parliament and the UK Parliament

29/04/2013

Some politicians have more followers on Twitter than the number of votes received- how does this change the way we see and do politics?
Social media and the changing trends of news consumption are remaking politics. How does this change political career-paths and the level of control political parties have over their members? How can parties adapt to this change, both vis-à-vis their members and their voters?.
But it's not only traditional political parties that must rethink their communication, but also public institutions. Is there a democratic obligation for public institutions to be on social media? If yes, how does that change policy making and traditional boundaries between transparency and confidentiality?

19/04/2013

11/04/2013

The European Parliament Information Office in the UK and Open Europe hosted a discussion on: Should the UK continue to be bound by approximately 130 EU police and criminal justice measures and accept the EU Court of Justice's full jurisdiction over them? The British Government will have to give a final answer to this question by the 31st of May 2014.

21/03/2013

As the reputation and economic role of the financial sector continues to be called into question, there are demands for further regulation at national and EU level. Regulators have made it clear that they will act to introduce stricter legislation. Will this just result in more rules and therefore more rule-bending? Are complex rules the right answer to complex problems? Current research shows that simple principles may produce better results. A change in corporate culture is surely an integral part of good regulation.
It is clearly in the financial sector's interest to raise its ethical standards, since poor conduct has caused repeated harm to the bottom line. But is improving the bottom line the only reason for business to behave ethically or is there a motivation beyond the books? Why do we need good corporate culture in society?
Our panel of specialists discussed how to engage City professionals and politicians in defining culture change in the City and the contribution of traditional concepts of morality.
The European Parliament Information Office in the UK and St Paul's Institute and the British Bankers' Association hosted the discussion.
Sharon Bowles MEP
Leslie Griffiths, Lord Griffiths of Burry Port
Anthony Browne, CEO, BBA
Bill Michael, Head of Financial Services, KPMG (tbc)
The debate was moderated by Brooke Masters, Chief Regulation correspondent, Financial Times.

15/03/2013

A briefing by Philippe Lamberts MEP on the new banking regulatory dossiers and the caps on bank bonuses at EU level
At the end of February 2013 EU Ministers and the European parliament struck a provisional deal on new financial rules, including a cap on bank bonuses. EU finance ministers met at the beginning of March to confirm the deal.
The European Parliament is set to vote on the final agreement on the whole banking regulatory dossier and the bonus cap in its April 2013 plenary session
Philippe Lamberts, a Belgian Green MEP and a member of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the EP, was the first to raise the idea of pegging bonuses to salaries and has been at the forefront of efforts to impose the rule Europe-wide, to discourage excessive risk-taking in the financial sector.
In this 'behind-the-scenes' briefing and Q&A, Mr Lamberts gave his assessment of the state of play on the various banking regulatory dossiers on which the European Parliament will vote on in April.
*Financial Times headline, 1 March 2013

07/03/2013

What has the EU has done for British women in the past 40 years? And what might arise in the field of gender equality from renegotiation and repatriation of powers by a UK government? Leading the discussion were:
Mary Honeyball, Labour MEP, member of the Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee
Marina Yannakoudakis, Conservative MEP, member of the Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee
Justine Roberts, CEO of Mumsnet
Dr Roberta Guerrina, Senior Lecturer and Head of the School of Politics at the University of Surrey
Jacqueline Minor, first female head of the European Commission Representation in London, ranked the 24th most influential Briton on EU Policy by EurActiv
The discussion was moderated by Benedicte Paviot, France 24.

22/02/2013

The European Parliament Information Office in the UK organised a specialist discussion on the future of the EU Clinical Trials Directive on Friday 22 February 2013.
Leading the debate were:
- Glenis Willmott MEP, the appointed European Parliament's rapporteur on the dossier.
- Stefano Soro, Head of Unit within the European Commission's Directorate-General Health and Consumers
- Dr Liz Philpots, Head of Research, Association of Medical Research Charities
- Prof. Michele de Luca, Principal Investigator in European Commission FP7-funded Stem Cell research consortium, OptiStem"
- Fiona Fox, (Moderator) Chief Executive, The Science Media Centre
The Clinical Trials Directive (2001/20/EC) has been controversial among researchers, industry and patients alike for its heavy regulatory requirements and lack of multinational harmonisation, among other issues. Following a recent European Commission proposal to cut red tape and restore European Union's competitiveness in clinical research, the issue has now been taken up by the European Parliament. This event gave stakeholders and specialist media a chance to find out the latest developments in the revision of the legislation and feed in their thoughts on the direction that the EU should take.

21/01/2013

The European Parliament Information Office in the UK would hosted an audience with Lord Hannay in discussion with John Peet, on the early years of Britain in Europe.
The ongoing controversies about the "repatriation" of powers from Brussels and the EU budget negotiations are nothing new. In fact, the UK has been agonising over these issues since the very start of its membership of the EU.
Based on his recently published memoirs, Lord David Hannay discussed with John Peet key events from the 70's and 80's, such as the 1975 Referendum and the 1984 agreement on the British rebate and how they are relevant to the debate in 2013.

11/01/2013

The European Parliament Office in the UK and Business for New Europe would like to invite you to a panel discussion on the 40 year anniversary of UK's accession into the European Economic Community.
This event not only looked back over the 40 years since the UK became a member of the Single Market but it also discussed the future challenges for the UK in Europe. We asked what influence has the UK had in shaping the EU as we know it and what are the real political choices facing the UK in its relationship with Europe?
This inaugural event of a series held by the European Parliament Office over the course of 2013 consisted of two panel discussions - one looking at the lessons that we can draw from the last 40 years of the UK's membership, another looking at where we are and where we should be heading. There was also an opportunity for audience members to ask questions following the discussion.